I Needed You
by missdallywinston
Summary: One Shot. How Does Ezra even begin to explain the Malcolm situation to Aria? And how does Aria react? Follow up to the Ezra x Aria scene in Bring Down the Hoe.


Ezra heard a knock on his door and had a pretty good idea of who was on the other side. It was eleven thirty, so he doubted it was the mailman or a neighbor in need of something. He got up off the couch and opened the door. He was absolutely right about who it was.

Aria stood as still as a post and had changed out of her silly cowgirl costume that had slightly turned Ezra on at the dance. Aria half smiled and asked, "Can I come inside?"

Ezra didn't say anything, but left the door open and went into his apartment. Aria followed and closed the door.

Ezra stood closer to the couch, his back to Aria, and awkwardly re adjusted his watch. "You didn't have to come," he stuttered.

Aria squinted her eyes at him and said, "I wanted to."

Ezra turned around and questioned her, slightly fed up. "Is Jake out there," he asked, motioning to outside the door, "waiting for you?"

Aria shook her head. "No, he dropped me at home. I came by myself." She was annoyed by the clear aggravation of Jake. Did Ezra really think she would bring Jake with her to this little meeting?

Ezra nodded and Aria quickly changed the subject from Jake and waved her hands. "What happened with Malcolm?"

Ezra sighed and looked around his apartment. "Um," he started, sitting down and hunching over. "It's a – It's a mess, Aria." He snuck a peek at her before letting his gaze fall on the floor again. "And I'd… really rather not drag you into it." He rubbed his palms together and didn't know what else to say. They weren't together, but she did slightly need to know. He wondered what she was thinking.

Aria took a deep breath and sat down on the couch next to him, closer than necessary. "I'm not leaving, Ezra," she said, holding his fore arm, "okay, so you might as well talk to me."

Ezra fought back tears and looked at her hand. Memories ran through his mind like a flip book. They always held hands. Always. He was glad she didn't let that go.

He took another deep breath and looked up, as if the opening line to his statement was written on the wall in front of him. He thought of telling her to just give up and leave and not get swallowed up in his problems, but knew it wouldn't do any good.

Aria sensed that he didn't know what to say and spoke up, "All Emily told me was that Maggie was moving Malcolm across the country."

Ezra raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Well, it's more than that."

"Then what is it?" she pried.

Ezra contemplated beating around the bush, but decided against it. "Maggie, um, Maggie lied."

Aria was confused and scrunched her eyebrows together. She readjusted on the couch and faced Ezra. Ezra turned too. Aria took her hand off his arm, but quickly placed it back before asking more questions. "About what?"

Ezra gulped, "Malcolm. He's not-" Ezra felt a tear drop down his cheek and Aria tensed up. He didn't want her to see him cry, but he still just couldn't believe the confession he was about to reveal. "He's not mine. He's not my child."

Aria gasped and didn't know where to begin. She realized Ezra was now shaking and couldn't help but tear up herself.

She pulled Ezra into a hug, not caring about the line she was crossing. If someone needed a hug, she wasn't one to back down.

Ezra was surprised by her embrace, but went with it. Aria muttered into his neck, "Are you sure?"

Ezra pulled away, but grabbed her hands. When she didn't tug them back, he explained further. "Maggie told me she was moving to Seattle, but I wanted some kind of custody, so I talked to Spencer's mom-"

"Spencer's mom?" Aria interrupted. Did Spencer know anything about this? Did Mrs. Hastings know about the history of herself and Ezra?

"Well, she's the only lawyer I know around here and I had her number," he continued. Aria tilted her head and he waved his hand. "From parent teacher conferences. Anyway, she told me I had to test for paternity to get my name on the birth certificate. I did, and when I got the results back…"

He let out another sob and Aria squeezed his hand. Aria couldn't believe it! She was angry at Maggie for not telling him and lying. She was mad at herself for not answering Ezra's calls when he needed her. She was furious because she broke up with him because of Malcolm. Now it was just kind of wasted time.

But now, he was back to being her teacher and they were back to not being able to be together. Oh, how she loved irony.

"I'm so sorry, Ezra. I thought when you called me you wanted to get back together or something." The words tumbled out before she could stop them. He wasn't crying about her, but yet she brought herself into the mix. She cursed her selfishness and shook her head.

Ezra didn't know what to say – or if he should say anything at all – so he was silent. He looked at her though and could tell that she maybe had hope for the two of them.

Awkwardness was setting in, so Ezra just started talking. "Aria, I know you're with Jake. I know you're happy. I know that you're…" he took a deep breath. "I'm just glad you care."

"Figured I could return the favor," she said, referring to the Mike incident a few days ago.

Ezra nodded and patted her hand. He was scared that she might take this chance to leave. He wanted her to stay.

Outside, CeCe had heard enough and rolled her eyes. Of course Ezra would turn the night they were supposed to plot into a rekindling of his romance with Aria. CeCe leaned away from the door and clomped down the stairs, choosing to hide in the parking lot in case Aria abruptly left and saw her outside the door.

Back inside, Aria was deciding what she should do. Should she question him further? Should she stay until he seemed okay? Should she kiss him?

_No_, Aria thought. _Stop it. You're with Jake. Stop_.

Ezra sighed, "Do you want some tea or anything?"

"No, thank you."

Ezra bit his lip and leaned back into the couch.

Aria came up with another question. "Does your mom know?"

Ezra shook his head, "No way. She wouldn't have paid Maggie off for some stranger. I kind of think I should tell her, but I don't know…"

Aria decided to help Ezra. For once, it wasn't about her problems, it was about his. And she needed to help him through it like he had helped her so many times before. "Well, your mother isn't the nicest person, so she might rub it in your face. But on the other hand, she'd cut Maggie off deservedly."

"I don't know, I think I'll tell her. Just not soon."

"If you do tell her, and need moral support," Aria started, rubbing his arm, "you know where to find me."

Ezra smiled and Aria leaned in an inch, wanting to kiss. But as soon as she leaned in, she hopped back. _No, don't go to that place,_ she thought to herself. She was happy Ezra didn't notice, or at least pretended not to.

In reality, he had noticed and was a second from leaning in himself. He wanted her back – bad.

"I better go," Aria stated. "School tomorrow…"

"Right," Ezra replied, standing up with her. They walked to his door together. Before Aria placed her hand on the door knob, she swayed a bit and looked into Ezra's eyes. "I really am sorry, Ezra."

Ezra ducked his head and chewed his lip. Aria leaned in again, but this time it was another hug. She wrapped her hands around his waist and buried her head in the crook of his neck. Ezra was resistant at first, but later wrapped his arms around her short frame. He took in her scent and realized just how much he had missed everything about her. Her fruity shampoo. The taste of tea on her lips. Her little, breathy laugh. He just missed **her.**

Aria pulled away before it reached the point of no return. She backed away, but gave Ezra a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ezra half smiled and opened the door for her. She stepped onto the doormat and quickly whipped her head around. "Bye, Ezra."

"Thank you… for coming tonight."

"No problem. Call me if you need me."

As Aria walked down the stairs, she realized just how close she was too falling into old habits. She knew, even though she hated knowing it, that she still very much loved Ezra. One part of her told her_ Go for it! You love him and he loves you! Malcolm isn't in the picture anymore and you can sneak around the teacher detail!_ But the other said _Don't do it! You two can't have a happy ending. It will never work. Just stop while you're ahead._

As she walked near to her car, she heard a twig snap and almost swore that she saw a figure in a black hoodie. She shook her head though and exhaled. She was just being paranoid. She got into her car and grabbed a cd from a stack in the backseat. Once she found the one she was looking for she popped it into the CD player and skipped ahead ten tracks. Finding the song she was searching for, she hummed along.

Happiness.

She dismissed all other thoughts and drove around Rosewood and listened to The Fray song on a loop. Rosewood was deadly still, due to it being one in the morning. She knew she had to get home, so she started driving in the right direction and got her mind back on track.

But, for some reason, all she could think about was Ezra for the rest of the night, and what she should do.


End file.
